Walnut Creek, California
COMPUTER CLUB of ROSSMOOR
2005 - JANUARY
Membership total 1540 manors. The April to July Classes and Seminars are available. There will be 4 classes which meet for 6 sessions of 2 hours each, and 21 Seminars which are one day two hour sessions. Many new seminars are offered, such as Google Demo, Picasa Photo Organizer, Purchasing on line and FireFox. Classes fill up quickly. Marie Klos has published this information on the Website.
FEBRUARY
Membership total 1589 manors. A second public computer has been added to the Computer Center. The board voted to add Don Ingenito and Sue Smith to the board of directors. Marie Klos and Don Torrence organized a Seminar/orientation for the Computer Center volunteers to be held on March 1, 2005.Chuck is very active with house calls and needs help. Don Ingenito and Dan Sorkin will pitch in and Bob Kneeland will try to help when he can. As a result of a meeting of February 10th, with Sue Rainey, Walnut Creek City Council woman and Gayle Uilkema 2nd District Supervisor, a pilot program to collect electronic waste will be initiated within Rossmoor by May 21st. A home pick-up charge of $10 will be assessed.
MARCH
Membership total 1601 manors. On March 1, the orientation/seminar for the Computer Center Volunteers had almost a 100% attendance.
Don Torrence gave a thorough review and summary of the operations and procedures necessary to provide an important service to the Computer Club members and Rossmoor residents. We hope to have the second public computer connected soon. Jim Bradley and Marie Klos schedule the volunteers for two 2-hour shifts daily and try to maintain a smooth operation. The Kilobytes has been mailed to 619 paid up members with their membership cards attached, and 982 issues were mailed to 2004 members with a self-address envelope to renew their dues.
APRIL
A special board meeting was held on March 31 and it was agreed the the Club would not reserve the Del Valle Theatre for our Holiday show in December. Bob Caracristi, Jim Bradley and Leonard will explore other options for entertainment to be performed in the Sierra Room. Marie Klos suggested a group of musicians called the Hard Travelers. It was also decided that colored tags would be issued designating choice of entree to avoid serving the wrong entree. Anyone wishing to make changes after the cut-off date will have to pay a cancellation fee of $10.00.
Activities at the Computer Center are going well. Both public PC's are being well utilized, most of the traffic is at the copy machine. Chuck continues to be busy with house calls and he does a great job. The next quarterly meeting will be on Thursday, May 12th. The topic will be "Identity Theft" and the presentation will be by Chuck Howard and Dan Sorkin.
Don Torrence is in need of tutorial assistants and will need a teacher to replace Jerry Carleton who is leaving the district in July.The Computer Club will be hosting a luncheon for Jerry. Len asked Marie Klos to order a plaque in appreciation of his great service to us.
Jim Bradley suggested the Club advertise the "identity Theft" presentation on the Rossmoor T.V. channel under "Club Activities." Plans are underway for the annual picnic to be held Thursday, August 11th at Sportsmen's Park.
MAY
Paid up membership total is 1013 manors. The quarterly meeting on Identity Theft was well received. A speaker from the Walnut Creek Police Department and Chuck Howard gave a very important and interesting presentation. Leonard is looking for a chairperson for the picnic in August and for the October Volunteer luncheon. Len announced that Pat Van Horn is retiring from the Acalanes School District. She was instrumental in supporting our efforts to join with the Acalanes School District. Len asked Marie Klos to order a plaque in appreciation of her support to the Club. Chuck will replace Jerry Carleton at the Computer Center at Gateway on Friday mornings, as our computer consultant. Cathy Nielsen will replaces Jerry at the Tuesday and Thursday classes.
On Saturday, May 21, Rossmoor was the site of a coordinated effort to collect and recycle old computers, TVs and other old electronic items. The Computer Club contacted Gayle Uilkema, County Supervisor and invited her to our quarterly meeting to discuss the problem. Ms Uilkema contacted Central Contra Costs Solid Waste Authority for help and enlisted Sue Rainey and Kathy Hicks who are on the Walnut Creek City Council. With their support, Walnut Creek appropriated more that $10,000 for Rossmoor's recycling effort. This enabled Lois Courchaine, the Waste Prevention & Recycling Specialist of the CCC Solid Waste Authority to plan and organize the May 21 collection and coordinate it with Rossmoor's Golden Rain Foundation. It took a lot of work and a lot of cooperation to make it happen.
JUNE
Current membership totals 1034. The board approved an offer from Internet Frontier to reduce the subscription rate to $12.95 per month to members. A schedule of class schedules will be mailed with the next issue of Kilobytes.
On Saturday, May 21, Rossmoor was the site of a very successful coordinated effort to collect and recycle old computers, TVs and other old electronic items. It was a convenient and legal way for us to discard old equipment.
JULY
On July 27, the Computer Club said their "goodbyes" to Jerry Carleton with a fabulous lunch which was catered by Sunrise. Muriel Wyro made all of the arrangements and the officers and board members enjoyed a fabulous lunch at the Dollar Clubhouse. This was followed by an open house for former students and residents to wish Jerry well on his move to San Diego. Regarding the 2006 membership dues, it was decided to mail a return envelope with the January Kilobytes to encourage members to renew their membership. Microsoft Access will replace the current database system. Sunrise will cater the holiday dinner and the Hard Travelers will be the entertainment. Donna Juergens will chair the August picnic. Cathy Nielsen will be teaching the Beginner classes. Jeanne Taylor, a teacher for Acalanes will take over Jerry Carelton's house calls at the rate of $35 per hour. Chuck Howard will take over Jerry's Friday morning sessions at the Computer Center. Charlie Berger will conduct the mouse classes to replace Don Torrence. The picnic announcements were mailed out. Our quarterly meeting in November will cover "Cyber-Crime." Monty Hall an ex FBI agent will be the guest speaker. Due to a family illness Marie Klos was authorized to change the scheduling system for the Computer Center. A weekly scheduled would not be sent to each volunteer via e-mail. The monthly calendar would continue to be posted in the Computer Center along with a roster with the Volunteers names and phone numbers. Substitutes will have to be arranged by the volunteers themselves.
AUGUST
Current membership totals 1079. Motion passed to give New members joining as of September 1, 2005 membership through 2006.
Don Torrence, Vice President of the Computer Club, and Ruth Torrence moved to Piedmont,. Muriel Wyro arranged for the officers and the board of directors to have a farewell lunch together and Len presented Don with a beautiful plaque. Don has been very instrumental in the success of the Computer Club. He will be missed.
The annual picnic was held at Sportsments Park on August 11th. Catered by Fritz. Great food and prizes. Attendance was approximately 200.
Don Ingenito is researching the pros and cons of WI-FI and what the costs and possibilities of it being introduced to Rossmoor and the Club.
SEPTEMBER
Current membership totals 956. Treasurer, Jim Bradley reported a considerable decrease in the membership income compared to last year. The board tabled a discussion and suggestions to improve that income for a future meeting. Bob Kneeland attended the board meeting and he will be a board member next month. He has been working with Chuck Howard making housecalls and he is doing a great job. The first mouse class this month presented a problem for Charlie Berger. There were 35 students and only 24 computers. Len has sent a letter to Steve Adams inquiring as to the possibility of a reduction in Comcast fees. Cathy Nielsen is teaching the Beginner classes and she is doing an excellent job. The Beginners workshops are held on Wednesdays only. The volunteer lunch will be held on Friday, October 14 at noon. Grace Mitchell is the Chairperson. Flo Myer helped with mailing the invitations. Marie Klos ran the name badges and Gloria Crabbe will decorate the tables with her beautiful creations. The board decided that a receipt should be written for all cash and check transactions at the Computer Center. A notice will be posted on the desk at the Computer Center. This will help Flo and Muriel keep the records straight on the database. There are problems at the Computer Center with users changing the public computer settings. This has got to stop. Marie made two signs to be placed next to the PC's indicating that e-mail use can only be done through Web Mail. The volunteer scheduling in August and September encountered many problems, with vacations, medical time and a few personality clashes. Marie suggested that we design a distinctive badge for Chuck Howard and Bob Kneeland wear when making housecalls. The elections of Officers and Board of Directors will be on Thursday, November 10th.
OCTOBER
Current membership totals 1207. Secretary mailed 'thank you' letters to ten members for donations. Class scheduling is now in progress. Classes will be held in the mornings with several seminars for e-mail and the internet. The board approved a motion to purchase a new printer for the classroom. Some safety concerns at the Computer Center, the door has been left open by the Telecare volunteers. There will be a quarterly General meeting Thursday, November 10. Election of Board Officers for 2006 will be held followed by two guest speakers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation covering internet fraud and scams. The 2005 Volunteer Luncheon was chaired by Grace Mitchell and it was an elegant affair. Marie Klos will download pictures to our website for this event. December 7 and 8 are the dates for the Holiday Dinner and Show. Marie will design the invitations. Sunrise will cater and the Hard Travelin Group will entertain. The board decided to charge $35 per person this year. Don Ingenito will research and report on wireless communication (Wi-Fi) and the possibility of Rossmoor and the Club introduce this modern method of communications.
NOVEMBER
Current membership totals 1239. Secretary mailed 'thank you' letters to five members for donations. The elections took place on November 10th, Chuck Howard was elected Vice President., all other officers will continue another term. The class schedules have been completed. We will have five teachers and the classes will beld 10 am - 12:00 and 1:00 - 3:00 pm Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays. Leonard informed the board that the school district's plans are to expand the existing upper level classrooms with an additional story, adding more classrooms and the possibility of installing an elevator. It was decided that early seating would be allowed for our handicapped members and guests. It was also decided to distribute a color coded tag to each person with their name tag designating their choice of entree. The December 15th meeting will focus on the Club's future goals and plans. Leonard copied the current membership roster on to a CD and downloaded it onto the E-mail computer at the Computer Center. This will enable the volunteers to open the roster when asked if the member's dues are current. The CD will be updated periodically. Monte Hall has joined Chuck Howard and Bob Kneeland with housecalls. Chuck advised that the 2005-2006 Norton Anti-virus program should not be installed or downloaded, it may cause problems. He suggested using McAfee anti-virus as an alternative.
Marie Klos has added pictures of the volunteer luncheon to the website and added information regarding the Holiday Dinner. The site also features a picture of Jim Bradley, treasurer and club correspondent. And a picture of Chuck Howard, vice-president and housecall guru. Also a picture of Bob Kneeland who is a board member and assists the housecall guru. They are well known in Rossmoor and do one heck of a job.
The Education committee consists of Chuck Howard, Liz Regan,Leonard Krauss and chairperson, Sue Smith. Kilobytes will be mailed the first week of December with membership cards attached for paid up members, all other will receive a self-addressed envelope to send in their dues. Chuck Howard will attend the January 1-7th APCUG convention in Las Vegas. Leonard will take a well deserved vacation. A one week cruise to the Panama Canal.
DECEMBER
The membership totaled 1248 manors. The Holiday Dinner and Entertainment was catered by Sunrise Catering and they did a wonderful job, as usual, to make it another successful event. Chuck reported that house calls are taking less time to solve. Bob Kneeland offered to setup new computers for members. The board members are considering ways to improve the Club's services such as 1) association with the camera club would make more information available to members and residents; 2) more classes and seminars covering topics of interest such as Digital Cameras and organizing photos. 3) more advanced classes such as spreadsheets, digital cameras, burning CDs and DVDs. Len Krauss, Chuck Howard, Jo Jones and Sue Smith are on the education committee and they have prepared the schedule of classes and seminars for the next quarter. These will be on the back of the January 2006 calendar and on the Club's website, www.rossmoorcomputerclub.com.
